- By Sunny Daud
- Sat, 20 Jun 2026 06:49 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India were closing in on a series whitewash when they took on Afghanistan in the third and final ODI in Chennai on Saturday. Afghanistan chose to bat first but could only manage 218 runs. To make matters worse, a costly mistake by captain Hashmatullah Shahidi gifted India five penalty runs before the chase even began.
Shahidi had played a fighting innings to help Afghanistan recover from a poor start, but he was penalised late in the innings for running on the protected area of the pitch. The incident took place on the final ball of the 40th over when he stepped into the restricted zone for the second time during the innings.
The on-field umpires, Chris Gaffaney and Rohan Pandit, spotted the infringement immediately. As a result, the single completed by Shahidi was cancelled and India were awarded five penalty runs.
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Why Were Five Runs Given to India?
According to Law 41.14 of the MCC Laws of Cricket, batters are not allowed to run through the protected area in the middle of the pitch. This section, located in the centre of the wicket, is preserved to prevent damage that could affect play.
A batting side receives a warning for the first offence. If a batter repeats the mistake, the fielding team is awarded five penalty runs and any runs scored from that ball do not count.
Omarzai's Expensive Start Adds to Afghanistan's Problems
Afghanistan's troubles did not end there. When they came out to defend their total, Azmatullah Omarzai endured a nightmare start with the ball.
Bowling the opening over, Omarzai sent down 11 deliveries and conceded 23 runs. His over included two no-balls and two wides, giving India a flying start to the chase.
The expensive over also helped India create a new ODI record. The 23 runs scored in the first over became India's highest-ever total in the opening over of an ODI innings.
The previous record was 22 runs, set against Bangladesh during the 2004 Asia Cup in Colombo when Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar got India off to a blazing start.